


Symbiosis (Didn't Work)

by demiecho



Series: Canon Symbiosis SMP works [1]
Category: Minecraft - Fandom, Original Work, Symbiosis SMP
Genre: Angst, Childhood Trauma, Death Threats, Demi-God(s), Gaslighting, Ghost | Phantom (Symbiosis SMP) as a Human, Ghost | Phantom (Symbiosis SMP) as a Hybrid, Human(s), Hurt No Comfort, Hybrid(s), Like one chapter of fluff, Memory Loss, Minecraft, Minor, Non-Human Humanoid Society, Original Character(s), Other, POV Third Person, Psychological Trauma, Time Travel, Trauma, angst and hurt, my own work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-23 21:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30061851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demiecho/pseuds/demiecho
Summary: Me and My friends SMP! This is a work in progress but oh boy is it gonna be angsty!
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Series: Canon Symbiosis SMP works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2219535
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

The soft crunching of grass could be heard, and the group of six were travelling to an unknown location. “I still don’t know why they picked us.” Lucy said, grasping her shulker box in her hand. 

“Yeah, it is rather annoying,” Ghost said, scratching their wrist. “Did they mention that they are gonna send another hybrid over?”

“No..?” Apple asked, turning around to walk backwards so he could face Ghost.

“Huh. Well I offered to let him sleep in my house. Just saying,” Ghost said, shoving their hands into his pockets. 

The rest of the journey was pretty calm, small conversations starting up every once in a while. Lucy plucked her communicator out of her pocket and checked the coordinates. “Alright guys, we are only a few hundred blocks away. It will only take us around another 10 minutes,” She said, looking down at the ground. Ghost groaned, and turned to Pheonix. He started up a short conversation. 

“So, this is where we were told to go?” Ghost asks, their voice monotone. 

“Apparently. Looks pretty bad,” Xea said, looking down at their own communicator to make sure they were in the right area. 

“Well, I’ll be leaving,” Josu abruptly said, walking off in a random direction. 

“Hey wait!” Lucy called out, running up to Josu and grabbing their sleeve. “You can’t just leave!” 

“I’m not going far. Just far enough to have some isolation,” They explained, continuing to walk off. Lucy sighed, and turned around to the rest of the group. 

“Well I saw a raised area that was flat over there. I’m gonna set up there. You guys can do whatever I guess,” Ghost said, turning around and heading to the forest edge. Apple and Pheonix also split off, mumbling silent goodbyes as they set up in different areas. Xea placed down the spare things they had collected, and made small conversation with Lucy. Soon enough the two of them had made a little platform area that would serve as a ‘town centre’ for now, and had begun to dig out a little ditch for a well. 

“Hey Guys!” Ghost called out, running over to the two. “I found some sheep and sheared them. Here, I made you both sleeping bags.” He displayed the makeshift beds, and Xea and Lucy took them, Xea flying up and grasping it in their claws.

“Thanks Ghost,” Lucy said, giving Ghost a sincere smile. Xea made a hum of agreement, and placed it on the floor. Ghost nodded, and ran off to where he had been setting up. Very basic foundations could be seen, along with the soft glow of a lantern to keep the monsters away. Lucy soon retired to her ‘bed’ and slowly drifted off to sleep. Xea stayed up for a while longer, just letting the rustling of leaves occupy their mind despite their want for interaction. They then climbed under the covers and fell asleep.

In the twilight night sky a distant flash could be seen, one of which would soon provide a mystery.

The morning sun began to rise, and with it a tired group of adventurers rose. First up was Ghost, one known to rise early and fall asleep late. They began to collect materials for his structure and food to cook for the rest of the group. Secondly was Pheonix, who stumbled tiredly over to where Ghost had set up a campfire. Xe sat down on a log, and let Ghosts rambles occupy their mind. Soon the other three came over, only leaving the loner Josu to their own devices. A nice rabbit stew was soon delivered to the group, Ghost sitting down in their own place to rest up and eat before getting on with the day. A soft conversation took place, everyone talking about their first day. Apple had collected seeds and Pheonix had harvested some apples from the nearby orchard. In the distance a flash would go unnoticed. 

The next few days began to pass, and the community began to be created. Josu visited them, everyone began to construct their own houses and community centres. The area was developing, but it began to get cold. And fast. Winter crept in, and it left the days shorter and shorter. This meant the group had to focus on their own houses, and the ones who had already finished helped those with larger houses. 

There was a soft glow emanating throughout the room, the four humans joking around with each other. “You know, I’m glad I came,” Josu said, laying down on the ground. They had been warming up to the group, and Ghost was happy about that.

“Same, it feels so weird to think about what would have happened if I didn’t,” Ghost said, fiddling with their sleeves. They sighed, and pulled the blanket Nix had made over their shoulders. “I can’t believe we had to leave in late Autumn though,” 

“Yeah,” Pheonix said, closing their eyes. “I can’t wait for the future,” 

“I bet it’s gonna be great,” Lucy spoke, walking over to Ghost. She leant down to her ear, and whispered “I have something to ask of you later Ghost,” 

Ghost nodded, and Lucy walked off. The other two looked puzzled as to what that had been, but Lucy and Ghost both shrugged it off. Slowly Josu and Xea drifted off to sleep, leaving a crackling fire, Lucy and Ghost alone. 

“So,” Ghost started, looking up at Lucy. “What do you need?” He asked, a confused look on their face. 

“I was wondering if we could do a festival? Like we could make a stage and everything!” Lucy said, bouncing up and down in anticipation. Ghost smiled, and looked down at his hands.

“Why me though?” She asked, biting their nails. 

“Seriously dude. I don’t think you have realised, but those speeches you did to motivate us really helped. I’m sure you could get people to help in an instant. Everyone trusts you girl,” She said, a serious look in her eyes. Ghost sighed, trying to look for any form of joke in the elders' eyes. 

“Sure,” They finally said. “I’ll help!” Lucy smiled, and they both eventually fell asleep.


	2. I

A warm sun rose, encasing the small community in a nice warm glow. A stage began to be occupied, someone rushing around it trying to make sure everything was perfect. Colourful banners were placed on the ground, ribbons strung from the towers on either side and a microphone was placed in the centre front of the stage. Said someone was interrupted by a loud noise, and a confused being looked over to where it had originated from. They saw Lucy there, a lopsided grin displayed on her face. She had a basket of bread in her arms, the freshly baked goods steaming slightly as she walked closer. Lucy climbed onto the stage, and placed the basket on the ground as she stretched her arms. Ghost approached her. “Lucy?” He asked, fiddling with a spare ribbon.   
“Hey dude! I’m just bringing you some breakfast. How long have you been out here?” She asked, handing a small roll of bread to the younger.   
“I don’t know. Probably a couple of hours.” They said, taking their communicator out of his pocket. He turned it on, and realised the time. “Oh. Around 5 hours now,” They said casually, shrugging off Lucy's shocked look.   
“WHAT?!” She exclaimed, Ghost visibly flinching at the loud noise. “You got up at 2 in the goddamn morning?”  
“Yeah,” Ghost said, moving back to the microphone to test if it worked. “I want everything to be perfect, Lucy,”   
“You can’t just ignore your own personal health for it! Seriously, it isn’t good.” They said, walking over to Ghost. She took his shoulder, and directed the two of them to the chairs they had set up on the ground. She shoved Ghost into one. “Sleep.”   
“What? But the festival is in three hours!” He exclaimed, shoving back at Lucy.  
“And? You need to sleep. I’ll wake you up in two hours.” 

After some arguing, Ghost finally gave in, and within five minutes fell straight back to sleep. Lucy grabbed some of the materials Ghost had left on the stage and began to decorate. She moved around some of the things that definitely did **not** fit in ( ~~Why did she let the seventeen year old set this up?~~ ) and began to make it all look better. She removed the pink and mint banners he had put up, replacing them with red and yellow. She placed a large banner with the words ‘Symbiosis’ printed on it up in the background, and Lucy began to clean away the pile of energy drinks that had collected in the corner ( ~~That definitely was not healthy~~ ). After an hour of fixing the display, she sat down on the edge of the stage and took a large bite out of the one of the cooling bread loaves she had brought along with her. 

Nixen walked down the path to where xe had been told to gather. Apparently Lucy and Ghost had been planning something. As they approached, they saw colours taking up the area which would usually be a dark wooden colour. They sucked in a gasp, and ran over, quickly putting their communicator back in their pocket. They saw the rest of the group standing around, the two aforementioned humans standing on the stage talking. Ghost was drinking an energy drink, and Lucy was holding a mug of something in her hands. It appeared that Lucy was reprimanding Ghost for somethings, of which they just shrugged for a reply. Lucy placed a hand on his forehead, then smiled and reminded him of something. As Pheonix entered the vicinity, everyone noticed xem and smiled, Xea putting a wing in the air and motioning for the 19 year old to come over. “There you are!” Xea said, a fond smile evident on his face.   
“Sorry I’m late! I was busy with something and didn’t realise the time,” Xe said, nervously chuckling. Nixen wasn’t lying per se, but they did notice the message.  
“Don’t worry about it. You’re only a few minutes late.” Xea explained, then pulled xem over to a seat. 

“Thank you all for coming!” Ghost said, smiling brightly. “I am sorry it was under such a short notice, but Lucy had a great idea and I was more than happy to help. If you are wondering why we have called you all here, well we wish to celebrate being on this land for five months!” They exclaimed, and the crowd of five cheered. “This festival will be on all day long! So you can perform anything you want, just ask me or Lucy!” He said, nodding to Lucy. Lucy walked past Ghost as he walked off of the stage.   
“Yeah! So as Ghost said, today we are going to be holding a festival. I hope you enjoy our five month ‘anniversary’ everyone!” 

The next five hours were filled with laughter, and everyone was enjoying the time there. They had a baking competition, in which Ghost won even with the massive amounts of setbacks they caused for himself. They somehow managed to mess up the measurements, so she had to redo that, along with a lot more dumb mistakes. They also had a painting competition that Apple won. Don’t ask them how he did it. Not even he knows. 

“Everyone. I have one last thing I want to do before we all leave for the night,” Ghost said, walking up to the stage. They climbed on, and rummaged around in a pile of decorations that Lucy didn’t touch. He grabbed a guitar, and brought it over to the front of the stage. He sat on the edge, and began to strum the stringed instrument. After a few minutes of Ghost getting into the tune, she eventually cleared their throat and began to sing. The song was one they had known since childhood, one that his father had played for him before he had to leave for military service (He never saw her dad afterwards) and so he decided to share the love. 

After the performance had ended, Ghost held his breath and awaited scrutiny. Instead, what came was a round of applause. The group were cheering Ghost on, making sure that his performance was well celebrated. Ghost smiled, and looked over at his ~~colleagues~~ friends. They placed the guitar down on the stage, and hopped down to the ground.


	3. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: MANIPULATION, MURDER, THREATS, GASLIGHTING

The night was a dark place in Symbiosis. The area hadn’t been properly charted yet, and thus nobody had been bothered to light up anything further from the paths they had constructed and the town centre. Oftentimes people would be shaken out of sleep by the sound of creepers exploding as someone was trying to fend them off, or arrows would be found pinned to doors because of pesky skeletons. The night's beauty was never overshadowed by them though, often people would sneak out at night with no armour or weapons and go to the cliffside, watching the stars until sunrise. Ghost needed to go to Josu’s house, to drop off some diamonds they had decided to give to them. As he was approaching the forest, he noticed a large clearing that he could sneak through. He slowly crept through, regretting the fact he hadn’t brought anything along with her. They had managed to get to the centre before she was chased by some mobs, and they decided to just press on. They noticed Nixen over in the distance slaying the mobs, their lifeless carcasses sinking into the ground they rose from. “Nixen!” Ghost called out, running over to them. Ghost nearly fell over, taking a second to catch her breath. Nix had begun to make xyr way over to Ghost, and nodded to confirm that they had noticed the human. Ghost smiled, and let Pheonix make their way over to her as she sat down and tried to avoid the wrath of the monsters. Ghost looked up to Pheonix just in time for the flat part of their blade to hit the sitting human out, them falling on the ground. 

Ghost awoke chained up to a bed, their mind fogged up. They cracked open their eyes, and immediately shut them. The light streaming from each corner of the room they were in was too much, a blinding sense of fear overtook her. She sucked in a breath, and slowly opened up her eyes. They noticed the room was constructed of obsidian, in the corners of the rooms lay a constant stream of lava. “Hello?” She called out, her voice raspy from lack of use. “Anybody there?” 

The only reply that he got was the bubbling of lava, its intoxicating noise filling the teens mind. Ghost struggled against her chains, trying to see if there was anyways she could escape from the metallic claws. After a few minutes (hours?) of struggling Ghost gave up, accepting defeat. He sighed, and let the popping and hissing carry him away to dreamland. 

When Ghost woke up again, he looked around the room to check if anything had changed. He noticed a clock hung up above the door, and some bread laid down on the floor. They noticed that their hands and legs were finally released, so they attempted to get up off of the floor and walk over to the food. Due to being stuck on the bed for a day or so, Ghost immediately collapsed onto the ground, and she let out a little cry as she made contact. She crawled over to the bread, and tore a piece off. He placed it in his mouth, and began to chew. The bread tasted just like Lucys, and he was brought back to times of peace when him and Lucy baked some bread. He savoured the taste, eventually eating the entire loaf of bread like it was a small chocolate. He let his mind wander, eventually settling on Pheonix. “Fuck!” He cried out, clambering back over to the bed. “Oh Aether what happened to Nix?” She asked, covering himself in the covers. “I hope they are okay…” He trailed off, biting his lip. Just as he was about to try and walk he noticed something.

“Wait what,” She said, looking down at her clothes. These weren’t her usual clothes. Did whoever the disgusting person who captured her change her? Or… Oh no. Oh no. “NO,” He cried out, noticing that when he had been knocked out he had somehow changed back to his hybrid state. This wasn’t supposed to happen, he was meant to stay away from this. His mind began to fog up, tears clogging up his eyes. They began to spill like a waterfall, his words of worry spilling out in murmurs.

He awoke a mess, his throat dry and his mind a haze. He clambered out of bed, trying to look away from the piercing lights that would send him into a panic. She crawled over to the door in the front of the room, and searched around for some form of sustenance. He eventually managed to find the food and water that had been left for him, and he downed it all in a minute. She backed himself against the wall, taking off the suit jacket he was wearing. She grabbed hold of his hair, and tried to calm themself down. 

On the third (fourth?) day he finally saw another being. She was curled up on the bed, mumbling nonsense when the door opened. He slowly looked up, and locked eyes with the mystery person who had locked her up in the cell. His jaw dropped as he saw Pheonix opening the door, sword in hand. She scrambled over to xem.  
“Pheonix!” She called out, “Oh my Aether Pheonix! I’m so glad you’re here, you need to get me out!” She screamed, tears streaming down the teenagers face. All he was met with was silence, and when he looked up at the elder all she was met with was a disgusted look. He was pushed onto the floor, a sword held up to his throat.  
“I am here to save you,” They said, walking up to the younger. “I’m here to help myself though. Imagine this Ghost -or should I say Phantom?- a world where WE are in control!” Xe exclaimed, a crazed look in their eyes.  
“W-what?” Phantom asked, disbelief in his eyes.  
“You heard me! The two strongest people here, along with Josu, we could rule the world!” They said, a crazy smile twisted upon their mouth.  
“No!” Phantom cried, backing up against the wall. “I will never join you!” They said, their shoulders trembling.  
“You say that now,” They started, “But eventually you’ll cave. You will ALL cave!”  
Nixon turned around and left, leaving some food at the door. 

The next day Nix returned.  
“Get out,” Phantom hissed, venom evident in his voice.  
“Why? It’s not like anybody else will be here.” Nixon said, a smirk on their face.  
“They’ll know something is wrong. They care.” Phantom said quietly.  
“Nuh uh!” They tutted, wagging their finger in Phantom’s face. “They don’t care. They wouldn’t care if I told them you died.”  
“They do care! They will come!” Phantom said, backing themself against the wall.  
“Oh you naive little child. They couldn’t care less. Nobody but I care about you. I’m here to help you, remember?” Pheonix said, the confidence radiating off of them could easily make the lie a fact. “I’m the only one in your life who will help you,”  
“No,” Phantom said weakly.  
“Yes,” Pheonix said, and left.

Phantom spent that night crying to sleep, truly wondering if they did care or if it was all a front. 

When Nix came into the cell three days later, Phantom was close to breaking.  
“I’m not listening,” Phantom said, covering their ears.  
“I won’t stop talking until you do listen. So, just remember that they would have been here by now if they cared. This place isn’t hidden at all. I wanted to test them, but it’s clear that they don’t care. Now come on, join me. Imagine how easy life would be!” Pheonix stated, cackling by the end of it.  
“You are a maniac Pheonix,” Phantom stated.  
“Oh I know, and that’s why I know you will join me. You are so weak mentally, that anything will tip you over. I give you a month at most. Food rations will slowly decrease, and you will have no choice but to join me.” They said, and walked off, leaving less bread then usual.

When Pheonix entered the next day, they found the child staring into one of the pillars of lava. They marched over to her and pulled Phantom down onto her bed. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was spaced out. Pheonix smacked him.  
“What the fuck?” He asked, holding his hand to his cheek.  
“I’m sorry, you know it’s for the best,” Pheonix said, a ‘sad’ look on their face. Phantom sighed, and layed back on her bed. “Anyways, I have news. I have taken every important piece of armour you have, and you won’t get them back unless you join me.”  
“You wouldn’t dare,” Phantom said, a sudden burst of energy flowing through their veins. They stood up and grabbed Pheonix’s collar, and brought them over to the lava closest to the two. “You know how hard it took for me to get that shit. If you did I will throw you into this and you won’t see the light of day again,” Phantom said, a sudden pain freezing their shoulder. He stumbled backwards, falling onto the bed. They fell into a coughing fit, and promptly passed out.

“I have a deal. I will give you your items back, and you can leave this place, but only if you are under my control. If you don’t decide to take this, you will rot here. You have one week to decide,” Pheonix said, and Phantom just nodded. 

Seven days later a maniac entered a cell. The maniac forced a vulnerable teenager to make a decision.

“Yes, I agree,”  
\---


	4. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i had turn back time on repeat for this

It was a symphony of time, a crashing of colours and an ending of everything. A new beginning, and the rewinding of the current. An empty feeling plagued them, as they floated on a journey. The time had sucked them in, a watch full of memories and discoveries. They knew what they had to do, and thus they gained the willpower to do this. An old friend once told them a tale, one of what ifs. Said friend had decided to help Ri to go back, and a final goodbye was sent to her as they left, words never spoken communicated through the final hug. 

The seemingly infinite feeling came to an end, and with a flash of light in the dark sky Ri fell down onto the ground of a small civilisation. A dark figure loomed over them, their broad shoulders a tower in which a bell could be placed. Ri shrunk into themselves, and the figure backed up a bit. They cleared their throat, and extended a hand to help Ri up. Ri took it, and dusted themselves off. 

“So.” They started. “Who the hell are you?” 

“Way to make a good first impression. The names Ri, you?” Ri said, in an attempt to make sure the being with fully enchanted netherite armour didn’t place them on their bad side.

“Pha- Ghost,” The figure (Ghost apparently) said, taking off their helmet and placing it under their arm. “Just so you know, there will be people wanting to meet you. Like, five others. You better get to sleep.” Ghost said, pulling out a piece of bread and tearing a piece off, throwing it into their mouth. 

“Are you seriously just… fine with someone appearing out of nowhere?”

“Yeah. Weirder things have happened to me. How old are ya’? I bet you’re like nineteen or something.” Ghost says, the first part being in such a casual tone that Ri doesn’t believe (can’t believe) that they’re lying. 

“I’m eighteen. Close enough I guess,” Ri says, trying to match the (much) tallers tone. 

“Nice. Well if you want to know I’m seventeen. Yeah, I know it’s pretty weird that a seventeen year old has full netherite, but hey? What can ya’ do about it?” Ghost said, a blank look on their face. Ri was confused, how did this random person they had never met before (but certainly heard of) had managed to say exactly what they were thinking. 

“How did you..?” Ri asked, prompting for Ghost to say what they were getting at. 

“Guess what you were gonna ask?” They ‘guessed’, that annoyingly familiar look still displayed on their face. “I’m magic,” They said, wiggling their fingers in Ri’s face.

“Wh- what?” Ri choked out, somehow not realising that they most definitely had been involved with magic.

“Nah I’m kidding. I just read people well. Dunno how, but I picked it up somewhere.” Ri nodded, looking down at the floor. “You hungry? I was just heading to my mas- friends house to get some food. Wanna come with?” Ghost asked, picking at their fingernails. Ri was about to decline, before their stomach growled aggressively. “Guess that’s confirmation,” Ghost mumbled, before grabbing Ri’s hand and pulling them down the path. As the two of them went further down, the grass path got more and more overgrown, the only show of a path being the trampled grass laying on the ground. A house could eventually be seen in the distance, the building looming over the entire area. The outside was well lit, lanterns placed upon tall cobblestone pillars, animals crowding around some form of food source. The porch that was displayed in front of the house had flower pots filled to the brim with flowers, ranging from blue orchids to lilies of the valleys. There were windows that let out light, and a large door. Ghost opened the doors, placing their armour onto one of the empty stands that were placed near the front door. 

“Nix! I’ve brought someone new,” They called out, telling Ri to wait there. Ghost walked down into the main area, a couple pictures pinned to the wall with red string connecting them together. 

“Hey Phantom,” Nix said, spinning around from the photos to examine if the kid had taken off his armour. “Sorry, Ghost I mean. You said you brought a new person?” Xe questioned, flexing their hand around some random piece of string. Ghost nodded, cringing at the mention of the name ‘Phantom’. They lead her master to the front door, where an anxious looking grey haired person was standing, fiddling with a large watch that had multiple different colours swirling around it. They had a brown cloak draped over their shoulders, and their undershirt was a light grey. They had a pair of black trousers that were covered in dirt. A loose white looking scarf was around their neck, which most definitely needed cleaning.

“This is Ri! They popped up out of nowhere.” Ghost said, looking down at the ground.

“Huh. What species are you?” Nixon queried, looking the eighteen year old up and down.

“I’m not sure. I know I’m a hybrid… just not what.” Ri said, furrowing their eyebrows as they tried to remember exactly who they were. Ghost tried to decipher their look to see if they were lying, but all they could analyse was pure and utter confusion. 

“Well, tell us if you remember anything. Might as well try and get you a book for you to remember things. If you have truly forgotten such a big part of your identity then you clearly won’t remember minute things,” Pheonix reasoned, biting xyr nails. Ri nodded, and Nixen left to go gather some materials to craft a book. Ghost tried to start up small talk, but it fizzled out after a few moments. Nix finally returned, book and quill in hand. They handed it to the younger, and Ri graciously accepted it.

“Let's make a deal, Ri.” Pheonix said, and Ghost immediately tensed up. “You help me out by collecting materials, and I offer you my protection,” 

Ri considered this for a moment, until nodding and extending their arm for Pheonix to shake. Pheonix shook it, and the three fell into a comfortable silence. 


End file.
